Huawei’s latest flagship TWS earphones, the Freebuds Pro 2, are a natural evolution of the first Freebuds Pro. They were designed in collaboration with Devialet and after spending a lot of time testing them, we are now ready to share what we hope are some useful ones. impressions.
We had the Silver Blue set, which is definitely the beauty of the prom – there are also black and white options for more traditional looks. Choosing a bold color for an accessory usually means it will be an accent in your outfit, and in this case, the Freebuds Pro 2 in blue are definitely a turn on.
The case has a matte coating and a mirror finish on the hinge where we can also see the Devialet logo. The earbuds themselves are shiny and are huge fingerprint magnets, which quickly degrade their appearance. Huawei introduced a rectangular stem design in the early Freebuds, but now the edges are more rounded and the whole headset looks seamless and overall much better.
The case supports wireless charging but unusually the coil is placed in the front. When you place the case on the wireless charger, you have the Devialet logo facing up, but obviously you can’t easily operate the lid. Other items of interest are a USB-C port at the bottom and a reset button on the right side.
The retail package has a USB-A cable and two extra sizes of rubber tips for the tops. Freebuds Pro 2 supports all phones, but you only get the AI Life companion app on Android from Huawei’s AppGallery.
The earbuds themselves are quite capable but it’s Huawei’s app that makes the difference. It can be used to activate noise control modes, set different sound effects and change gestures. There is also a “Tip fit test” which helps you select the right set of rubber tips from those provided in the package.
Our experience has shown that it is a bit redundant because we had already selected the ones that felt comfortable and the app simply confirmed that our choice is correct. Comfort is key for TWS earbuds, but sadly it’s a strictly personal matter as everyone’s ears are a little different. For what it’s worth, this reviewer hasn’t felt any discomfort with having these ear buds in the past few weeks.
There was also the occasional run on the local race track and trails in the mountain just outside of town – the Freebuds stayed in the ear to the point of forgetting they’re even there.
The design of the Freebuds Pro 2 stems is not their most unusual feature, but their touch navigation. Huawei has decided to avoid accidental touches on the outside and now you have to pinch with two fingers.
Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 in Huawei AI Life
The essence of the gestures has remained the same: one pinch is Play / Pause, two pinches are Next Song, three pinches are Previous Song; Pinch and Hold is the noise control; Swipe is lateral and controls the volume. All are customizable and can also be turned off.
What we found embarrassing is trying to pinch two or three times. It’s not a classic pinch, there has to be at least 1 second (1000ms) per gesture and it often wasn’t detected correctly, so I can tell it wasn’t very pleasant when listening to a podcast. Yes, pinching and holding works great, but that’s the only gesture I could reliably use. And it’s not like I haven’t given them time to get used to – I’ve been struggling with that for the past five weeks.
Audio performance is the most important feature of the TWS earbuds, and the FreeBuds Pro 2 really impress here.
That’s no surprise – the previous Freebuds Pro were some of the best earbuds in this form factor we’ve ever tested, and of course, Huawei’s partnership with Devialet helped fine-tune it too.
Selected drives and software optimization ensure a class-leading audio experience. First of all, there is a Dual Sound system which consists of a four-magnet 11mm dynamic driver and a separate UHF planar diaphragm driver.
Usually these elements are in one module but Huawei has managed to divide them by claiming that it really cleans up the output.
Basically, they deliver the deepest bass we’ve ever heard from such small buds, as well as clean vocals. Here’s where AI Life comes in handy: the app offers four key sound effects, which is basically a fancy equalizer, and we loved the Bass boost preset.
You can also create your own custom equalizer and activate some other software features including Smart HD and HD Voice which aim to further improve the output, but of course only work well with certain tracks and reduce battery life.
Speaking of voice calls, each gem has three microphones: two outward, directed towards the mouth, and a third that sits inside and deals with external sounds to offer noise cancellation.
Freebuds Pro 2 offers three main noise control options: Awareness which amplifies surrounding noises and has a switch for enhancing voices. It does a great job and can sometimes even get overwhelming in a supermarket with everyone around and the logs beeping.
The second option is Off and is the default.
The third option is noise cancellation. It has four levels of strength and does a solid job at the highest levels.
Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 case
The Freebuds Pro 2 case has a 580mAh battery and each gem has a 55mAh battery. Huawei’s claimed durability and our findings in the different noise canceling modes are listed in the graph below.
| Single charge mode | Playback time from Huawei Labs | Game time in real life |
| Noise cancellation | 4 hours | 220 minutes / 3 hours 40 minutes |
| Turned off | 6.5 hours | 360 minutes / 6 hours |
| Awareness (not recommended for prolonged use) |
N / A | 200 minutes / 3h 20 min |
Huawei has promised 40 minutes to charge the earbuds from 0 to 100% in the case. We’ve loaded the buds at least 20 times and the average is just 45 minutes, which is pretty decent.
The company also said the Freebuds Pro 2 case fills up in 60 minutes, as long as the buds aren’t inside. Our real-life reload times were consistently in the 70 to 75 minute window.
Wireless charging takes twice as long, up to 2.5 hours from 0 to 100%, so plug in a cable if you’re in a hurry.
Huawei has done an impressive job with the Freebuds Pro 2: unrivaled sound, sleek design, and solid battery life, combined with excellent noise cancellation.
At € 199 they are certainly not cheap, but they still feel like a great deal. Even more so when you take into account the freebies offered by Huawei in most of its online stores, such as a free Watch Band 7 or a discounted Scale 3. This is clearly a device worth buying and we can only recommend it so highly before we run out of superlatives.
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